Not Another Marauders Story
by SmartGuysGirl
Summary: Follow Lily, James, and the Marauders from 5th year on as they get into mischief and fall in love. Rated for later chapters!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

The fifteen year old stood on her porch and smiled; wavy auburn hair shinning in the sun with glittering emerald eyes, Lily Evans was ready to go back to Hogwarts for her fifth year. This year was going to be different; she had just been made a Gryffindor Prefect, one of the more prestigious positions available at her school for students. She was ready to go back and see her friends, her professors, learn more and—

"_HEY FREAK!_" a voice screeched from inside the house.

And get away from her sister. Petunia Evans was two years older than her sister and different in just about every imaginable way. While Lily had a full, curved figure Petunia was slight and extremely thin. Lily had long auburn hair and stunning emerald eyes that slightly changed shades depending on her mood while Petunia had short limp blonde hair and gray-blue eyes that barely show a flicker of light or emotion in them.

"Mum and dad are looking for you, you little freak," came her sister's voice right behind her.

"Thanks Tuney," Lily said, using her sister's childhood nicknames just to bother her. "I'll go inside then."

With that said, Lily strode inside right past her sister, ignoring the ugly sneer painted on her face. She found her parents in the kitchen and, even though they were smiling, knew it was covering up how they felt about her going to back to school. As a reward for making Prefect this year, they had given her extra money to spend on herself during her Hogsmeade trips throughout the school year.

"It's only until Christmas," Lily said as she hugged her mother.

"I know flower, I just hate that you're not around anymore. I feel as if I don't get to watch you grow into the amazing woman you're becoming," her mother replied.

Two hugs and a few tears later, the Evans family was on their way to King's Cross Station to see Lily off to school. Petunia, forced by their father to go, was sitting in the back seat of the car and refusing to say a word to her sister.

The sisters used to get along as children. They were the best of friends and inseparable; wherever one went, the other followed. As Lily reached the age where she was able to join Petunia at public school, their differences started to become noticeable. Lily's odd habits that happened at home became more frequent as she would get upset or frustrated with the other children at school. She could make things happen without realizing it.

Once in a while, the kids that would pick on her would suddenly find themselves with bright pink or blue hair. Once, a bully wound up hanging from a flag pole, as if tied and propelled up to the top. Lily, who was too small to be able to lift another person, couldn't explain how that happened when teachers came running to the scene.

Petunia was always humiliated by the things her sister did, but she stuck up for her sister no matter what. That was until _He_ showed up. He was the little weird boy from Spinner's End that came to school with Lily. He didn't like to talk to any of the other kids except for her. This made Petunia become over protective of her sister. She would follow them around to make sure that they didn't do anything weird.

Petunia knew Severus was going to get her sister into trouble one day and she was right. When Lily and Severus were nine, Severus told her about witchcraft explaining why she was able to make strange things happen. Petunia overheard this and exclaimed that he was a freak and that if Lily believed him, she was a freak too. From that day on, the sister's relationship was rocky and never really got back to normal. When Lily turned eleven, it just got worse. She received her letter to Hogwarts and was going to moving away for school.

Petunia wanted to go with her little sister, still having a deep wanting to keep their relationship strong. She wrote a letter to the Headmaster of the school begging to be let in and accepted. She felt that she could learn and do the same things that Lily could do. When Professor Dumbledore politely replied to her letter turning her down for admission, Petunia was done. She wanted nothing more to do with Lily and their relationship. She couldn't help but think of her once precious little sister as a freak now.

Once in King's Cross Station, Lily had to say goodbye to her family. Her mother and father in tears, and her sister forced. Lily constantly wished her relationship with Petunia would get better but, as this being her fifth year in Hogwarts, she knew better. With a sigh and a final wave to her family, Lily turned to the brick wall in between Platform Nine and Platform Ten and disappeared through it.

On the other side of the brick wall, Lily once again found herself on Platform Nine and Three Quarters. This particular platform was only accessible to those who were magical. There were special enchantments made so that if a Muggle, or non-magical person, happened to notice something strange, they would forget what they saw and think it a trick of their eyes. Lily looked down at her watch and realized that she had only ten minutes until the train left the station. With that, she gathered her trunk and her beautiful tawny owl, Melody, and boarded the train.

James Potter was a boy of fifteen, lanky with jet black, unruly hair and soft hazel eyes hidden behind glasses. He was getting ready to leave his home to go back to school. He would be starting his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; the same school where everyone else in his family had attended. James was a Pureblood wizard; there wasn't a person in his family that was not magical in some form. Because of this, James was highly talented and did not have to try to understand the material in his classes; it came naturally to him.

James had gone to Platform Nine and Three Quarters by himself this year as his parents where on another mission. They were Aurors and went after dark witches and wizards. James was used to his parents leaving every once in a while but there was normally at least one of them around at all times. With the situation in the Wizarding world getting worse, they were both needed more frequently. James, having been alone most of the summer and for the first time in his life, could not wait to go back to school in order to see his friends and cheer up.

"Hey Prongs," James heard from behind him.

When James turned around, he found his best friend standing behind him. Sirius Black was standing in the hallway watching James brood. He had been staying with the Potter family for the summer holidays; the Potters took him in like a second son and made him feel welcome, something his own family did not. Sirius pushed his long hair out of his eyes and walked into James' room.

"Are you almost ready to go mate?"

"Yeah, I just have to grab my trunk."

They headed downstairs and let the house elves know they were leaving. The boys were going to be grabbing the Knight Bus in order to get to the platform. The purple double decker bus was known for its speedy travel and the boys were running late; it was ten thirty in the morning and the train left at eleven a.m. sharp. Walking outside with their trunks James pulled out his wand arm and, with a bang, the Knight Bus appeared in front of him and Sirius.

Once they were on board and had paid their fare, the bus took off. Because the bus was known for its speedy travels, the driving could become hectic. Sirius almost fell onto a middle-aged witch who sent him a nasty glare when the boys walked past her. The ride was over before it began though and, with fifteen minutes to spare, James and Sirius walked through Plat form 9 ¾ and boarded the scarlet steam engine before them.


	2. Chapter 2

**So I forgot an Author's Note at the beginning of Chapter One….So—I don't own anything that you recognize. I'm just writing for fun! Please review, I love hearing other people's thoughts and opinions!**

**Chapter Two**

Lily was sitting alone in an empty compartment trying to keep her emotions together when the door suddenly opened. She glanced up and was surprised to see two fifteen year old boys burst in. One was a plump boy with a mousy face and light blond hair and the other was a too thin boy with sandy hair and a scattering of scars on his body.

"Hi Peter, hi Remus. Have a good holiday?" Lily asked the boys giving them a small smile.

"Mine was good, I spent most of it with my mum," Peter answered.

"My family and I went traveling to Romania," Remus answered as he and Peter sat down. "My dad likes to see dragons up close and personal."

"That sounds like fun, I've always wanted to see a dragon," Lily replied.

At that moment the compartment door opened and in walked two more boys: James and Sirius.

"Lily Evans! Fancy meeting you here," Sirius said.

"Funny, seeing as this is the only train to school."

"What's this, no screaming? No yelling? Am I, perhaps, growing on you my sweet little flower?"

"Like moss on a tree. I just thought that I should keep some sort of composure now that I'm a Prefect."

"It figures you would make Prefect," James cut in. "There's no one else who's as uptight as you in our year.

"For your information Potter, Remus is a Prefect too," Lilly snapped.

"Aw Remus, have you really gone over to the dark side?" Sirius joked.

"Don't worry mate, Remus will at least look out for us if Evans won't," James retorted.

"James," Remus said tentatively, for Lily looked like she was going to throw something at him. "Lily and I have to go to the Prefect's Carriage and find out what we're supposed to do."

"Fine, go with her. The three of us will just stay here."

Remus ushered Lily out of the compartment as quickly as he could. James and Lily were known for their screaming matches and he didn't think it would be wise for the two new Gryffindor Prefects to be in trouble before they even got to school.

As they walked to the front of the train, Remus let Lily fume and rant about what an arrogant toe rag his friend is. Lily believed James was a show off and Remus had to admit that, at times, she was perfectly right. James was a good guy, but when Lily was around he couldn't seem to keep it together. Remus and the other Marauders, as well as the whole school, knew that James had feelings for Lily; the only person who didn't realize it was Lily herself.

Once inside the Prefect's Carriage, Lily and Remus sat with the rest of their house and waited for the Head Boy and Girl to give out instructions. Lily and Remus, as the Fifth Year Prefects, had to direct the First Years to the Common Room and give them the password after the feast. They would also have to patrol together once a week to make sure no one was out of bed.

After the Prefects meeting, Remus and Lily split ways. Lily wanted to catch up with Severus Snape who she hadn't seen in a few weeks and Remus wanted to make sure James and Sirius weren't causing too much trouble.

"Once again we are at the start of another school year," Albus Dumbledore addressed the entire school once the sorting had ended. "I want to welcome the new students and welcome back the old ones. Now I know you do not wish to listen to an old man while you are hungry so I shall leave you with these words: tuck in."

Various varieties of food appeared on the table and everyone began to eat. Lily was sitting with the other girls in her year that happened to be in Gryffindor. Marlene Mckinnen, Emmiline Vane, and Alice Prewett have been Lily's closest friends since her first year at Hogwarts besides Severus Snape. She was especially close with Alice; they were as close as sisters, making up for the relationship with Petunia that fell apart.

"Lily, did you fight with James again?" Alice asked.

"How did you know?"

"You have a look on your face that's scaring the First Years. What happened?"

"He's just so infuriating! I was in a compartment talking to Remus and Peter when he strides in and calls me uptight because I made Prefect."

"Well…you do seem to have it out for him sometimes."

"Remus is a Prefect too and Potter doesn't think he's uptight. Him and Black are probably conjuring up dangerous new pranks and thinking that Remus will let them get away with it."

"Aw come on Lily," a voice said from behind her. "You don't think I'll be that bad of a Prefect do you?"

"Hey Remus, what's up?"

"We have to take the First Years up to the Common Room now"

As Lily looked around, she could see that Remus was right. At the other three tables, the Prefects were gathering up the newly sorted students and preparing to show them the way. Lily got up and gathered the nine or ten new Gryffindors. Lily led them through the castle while Remus brought up the rear to make sure none of the new comers became lost. Lily remembered to tell them about the trick stair, the moving stair cases, to watch out for Peeves and avoid the Forbidden Forest; what she forgot to warn them about was James and Sirius.

As the group was rounding the corridor that would lead them to the Fat Lady, a bunch of First Years let out a scream; the whole group became drenched as water fell from the ceiling. Remus pulled out his wand and helped dry off the First Years while Lily found the culprits; Sirius was doubled over in laughter while James was staring open mouthed at her.

"POTTER! BLACK!" Lily screamed. "What on earth were you thinking? Twenty points from Gryffindor."

"Evans, come on! We didn't do much harm to them," Sirius protested. "Do you really need to take points off?"

"Yes! Why can't you and Potter go up to your room and adhere to the rules for once? They're first years for Merlin's sake!"

"Geez James, you were right on the train, she is more uptight now."

James didn't reply to Sirius, he was too busy staring at the creature in front of him. He had liked Lily before this year, had found her attractive and smart, but didn't know how beautiful she really was until she was soaking wet. Her robe was open and her white uniform shirt was soaked through and sticking to her body revealing her cream colored bra and showing off her curves.

"James, mate, are you listening?" Sirius asked when James didn't respond to his remark.

"Potter what are you staring at?" Lily said while glaring at him.

"Evans," James said, practically breathless while gesturing to her dripping body. "You're beautiful."

The First Years behind them started to giggle bringing the four Fifth Years to their senses. Lily took out her wand, dried herself and turned to the giggling group behind her.

"The password is Lion Heart. Do not tell anyone the password as only Gryffindors are supposed to be able to enter the Common Room," Lily said snappishly to the group.

When the group went inside the Common Room, Remus directed the boys to their staircase and the girls to theirs. He also reminded them to be up early as the next day was a Tuesday and they would be having lessons. Lily, seeing that they had no other duties to perform that night said her goodbyes to Remus and, with a glare at James and Sirius, walked up the girls' staircase to her dormitory.


	3. Chapter 3

**I hope everyone likes the story so far. Once again, I own nothing you recognize.**

**PLEASE REVIEW =]**

**Chapter Three**

The next morning was a flurry of activity. When Lily and her friends entered the Great Hall for breakfast, they already saw Professor McGonagall handing out the time tables for the semester. McGonagall gave the girls a stern stare, when they went up to her, and gave them their time tables. Looking down at it, the girls were not looking forward to their fifth year; they had double Potions with the Slytherins and double transfiguration with the Ravenclaws every Tuesday and Thursday, double Charms with Hufflepuff on Mondays and Wednesdays and Defense Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

"Man, I am so not looking forward to this year," Emmiline said after she looked at their schedule. "At least we know one thing though."

"What's that?" Marlene asked.

"Lily's gonna ditch us to sit with Snape during potions," Alice interjected. "She always does."

Lily stuck her tongue out at the girls, she knew that their teasing was a way to try and get her to stop hanging out with Severus. Sev was going down a weird path; the problems with his father were getting worse as he was getting older and she knew his friends in Slytherin weren't helping. Lily wanted to be there for him as he had been there for her in the past.

"Guys, come on, I'm not gonna give up on Severus just because he's in a different house! That would be like asking Marlene to stop dating Benjy Fenwick because he's in Ravenclaw," Lily retorted back to them.

"Quite the contrary Evans," a deep voice said, causing the girls to jump a bit.

"Black, what do you want?" Marlene snapped.

"All I wanted to say is that your boyfriend is a better man than Evans' snake," Black replied coolly. James was standing beside him looking flustered.

"It's none of your business who I choose to hang out with Black," Lily retorted. "What are you two doing here? Shouldn't you be with Remus and Peter?"

"Well, if you must know Evans, James here wants to give you an opportunity for some fun."

"Potter, what on earth do you want?" Lily glared at him until he worked up his nerve to speak.

"I want you to go out with me Evans," James said trying to sound smooth to cover his nerves.

"Excuse me?"

"Go out with me Evans. Be my girlfriend."

"What in Merlin's name would make you think I would ever go out with you?" Lily exclaimed. "You prank everybody, you think you're better than everyone because you can ride a damn broomstick, and you constantly find new ways to hex one of my best friends. You are an ass Potter, and I do not want anything to do with you!"

With that, Lily and the girls stalked off to the dungeons to get to their first class. The whole way down to Potions, Alice couldn't stop laughing at what happened; by the end of the walk, all four girls were almost in years from their laughter.

"And did you see his face when you said no?" Alice asked Lily. "I'm not sure what he was more—sad or shocked!"

"I don't know what he has to be sad about," Lily replied. "It was most likely a dare by Black, you heard him 'James wants to give you an opportunity Evans'. Those Marauders make me so angry that I swear I'm going to snap!"

At that point the group went into the classroom to start their first lesson. Potions is one of Lily's favorite subjects. She was able to sit next to Severus and come up with new ideas to efficiently make potions while they caught up with their life. Being in different houses was hard for them and, since Professor Slughorn liked them and left them alone, Potions was about the only class where they had the freedom to talk.

Lily knew that Severus had a crush on her; in fact she had known it before he knew it himself. She ignored the fact and, since he never brought it up, hoped that he would eventually get over it. Severus was like a brother to Lily; he was the only person she could really go to all year long when things became rough with Petunia. Alice was there at times to help, but over the holidays Severus was easily accessible.

With a sigh, Lily shook her head, sat next to Severus, and began to make this lesson's potion.

James didn't know what to feel. All day, and all throughout the next week, Lily Evans was all he could talk about. Sirius couldn't stop laughing at him when she turned him down and it wasn't until Remus slapped the back of his head that he took the hint; James was hurt. He had never been turned down by a girl before; sure, he'd never asked one out before either but that wasn't the point.

He couldn't see why Lily rejected him. Sure he pranked people but they were only the Slytherins, but everyone wound up laughing at the pranks anyway—even some teachers! As for the fact that James was better than anyone else on a broomstick, well he liked to fly and practiced a lot. For being only fifteen and already having scouts from professional teams looking at him was something to be impressed by.

He was pretty sure the main thing was Snape; that slimy little git. He was the thing that was stopping Lily from saying yes. He only cursed Snape when he deserved it, why couldn't Lily see that? He and the other Marauders had found him hanging out with older Slytherins up to no good all last year. It just happened that Lily had found them on the receiving end of the Marauders' wands. Whenever Snape was involved, Lily could never be swayed. All Snape had to do was bring up their friendship and she was hooked.

"James mate," Remus said. "It's been three days; you have to stop brooding sometime."

"Yeah," Sirius said. "She's just a girl. Besides, it's Friday! We need to get started on our first prank of the year."

"But Sirius," Peter wined. "I thought we were going to show Remus that thing."

"Thing…what thing?" Remus looked suspiciously between his three best friends.

"Pete, mate, you know that has to be saved for later," James said harshly. "Remus, we have a surprise for you. We've been working on it for a while and—don't give me that look; it's nothing to worry about"

"James," Remus said hesitantly. "You know how I feel about surprises, especially when Sirius is involved!"

Sirius tried to make his face as innocent looking as possible.

"Remus, can you just trust us for once. I'm not going to make this into a thing the whole school has to know about."

Remus still didn't look convinced.

"Let's just all go to dinner and make fun of James some more," Sirius suggested. "Maybe we can get Lily to yell at him again."

Walking into the Great Hall, James was glad to see there were no seats near Lily and her friend. Word had already spread around the school that she had turned him down and, contrary to Lily's opinion, he didn't like the attention. He knew he was good looking, but never really made a big deal out of it like Sirius did. Sirius liked it when girls came up to him, but he always found it awkward.

James was pulled out of his reverie by a pretty blonde coming up to him. She looked slightly nervous and giggled a lot. He couldn't tell what her name was; he was pretty sure she was a Fourth Year in Hufflepuff. He could feel his and Lily's friends staring at him and, if looks could kill, he was pretty sure he'd be a goner by the way Lily was glaring. He needed to get rid of this girl quick.

"Hi," James said quietly.

"Hi James," The girl replied shyly. "My name is Jenny and I was…um…well I was wondering if you would go to Hogsmeade with me?"

"Jenny, I'm sorry," James replied awkwardly. "I don't really want to go with anyone, but thanks."

"Oh okay, I'm sorry to bother you," she replied and ran off.

Sirius was laughing while James' face was becoming even redder. Remus was looking at him with pity and Peter was open-mouthed in awe.

"See, I told you he asked me out on some bet—he had to have, I mean he's got other girls flocking to him," He heard Lily say to her friends as they passed him on their way out of the Great Hall.

"She thinks it's a bet?" James exclaimed. "Why the hell would I ask her out as my girlfriend if it was just a bet? I could've asked her on a date if that's all that mattered was a stupid fucking bet!"

"James, teachers are staring now," Remus said. "As well as everyone else too."

"I don't care, let them fucking stare! I'm going to have a word with Evans"

With that, James took off from the Great Hall and after Lily. He was determined to make her understand that he really did like her. He would do whatever it took; he had known, deep down, that she was the girl of his dreams from that first train ride on the Hogwarts Express. His hormones just helped him to realize it.

"Lily," he yelled, as he caught up with them in the Gryffindor Common Room. "It wasn't a bet. I heard you saying that, why would you think that?"

"Potter," Lily snapped. "Why can't you, for once in your life, leave me alone? I don't want to be a part of your games; I just want you to leave me alone. Get this through your ego and into your inflated head: I am not some prize to brag to Sirius Black about. Dating you is not an opportunity I want. Just go away."

With that said Lily walked up the girls' staircase and went into her dorm room. She knew Potter couldn't follow her up here because the staircase would turn into a slide when a boy tried to go on them. She didn't even wait for her friends to follow her; she changed into her pajamas, closed the curtains around her four poster bed, and tried to go to sleep.

"Tough luck James," Remus said, patting him on the back. "Maybe you should leave her alone."

"No, one day Lily Evans will be my girlfriend. I like her too much to give up on her," he replied determinedly.

With one final look up the girls' staircase, James turned away from his three best friends and Lily's friends, all of whom were staring at him, and made his way to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you for all of the followers that I have. I'm sorry that this has been a slow update; college life gets in the way sometimes. Remember that I own nothing that you recognize! It all belongs to the magical woman that is J.K. Rowling.**

**Please read and review!**

**Chapter Four**

The first weekend of the semester came and the Fifth Years were grateful for it. This year was turning out to be the most stressful they had ever had. The teachers were piling on the homework, like never before, after the first lesson in order to prepare them for their O.W.L.s. It was proving to be almost too much for the four Marauders who, forced by Remus, had to put their start of the year prank aside. Remus, ever the academic, wanted to make sure none of the boys fell too behind on their school work.

"Come on Remus," Sirius whined. "I don't want to be stuck here doing homework! It's the weekend, let's have some fun."

"It's only Friday," Remus replied. "You can have fun tomorrow and Sunday if you get everything done tonight."

"You have to get that stick out of your ass sometime mate," Sirius said jokingly.

Remus threw a pillow at him and went back to his work. The boys liked to work in their dormitory; Remus wouldn't be disturbed by anyone except Peter, who always seemed to have questions, and James and Sirius wouldn't be seen doing homework, which would ruin their reputation as 'bad boys'.

The boys worked on their homework and, after Remus checked to make sure all of their answers were right, were finally able to relax and enjoy their weekend. They knew that Remus was right and if they didn't keep up their work, they would fall behind very easily. The night wore on with the four boys talking in their dorm and being able to goof around with each other; their other dorm mate, Frank Longbottom, usually stayed in the Common Room with Alice Prewitt and her friends. Because of this, Sirius and James thought it would be the perfect time to show Remus their surprise.

"Remus mate, I know you've been freaking out all week," Sirius started.

"I have not been freaking out," Remus replied. "It's natural to be suspicious when you're involved."

"Look, do you want to know what we did or not?"

"Yes, just get on with it," Remus snapped.

"Pete," James said. "You should make sure the door is locked."

Remus sat down on his four poster bed and watched his friends move about the room. Peter was locking the door and making sure the windows were covered while James and Sirius were going about the room moving clothes and other discarded items off of the floor. The boys made sure that there was nothing in the middle of the floor; a miracle since the floor hasn't been seen since their First Year.

"Remus," James said, turning towards him. "We know that you've been hurting yourself because of your furry little problem, and we found a way to help you."

"James, there's nothing you can do to help me. I'm going to be cursed for life," Remus said. "Calling it something cute like a 'furry little problem' won't produce a cure."

"We know that mate," Sirius said. "But there is a way to be there with you during the process to, you know, make it easier on you."

"You can't make it easier on me!" Remus snapped. "The only things that can be near me are animals. If I bite one of you, I'd never be able to live with myself."

"Remus, do you really think we'd put ourselves in danger? We made ourselves Animagi," James said. "We worked on it for the last two years and we just got it right."

"No! I won't let you put yourselves in danger," Remus cried out. "You have to be seventeen in order to become an Animagus and even then, you have to go through the Ministry to register."

"Remus, it's too late," James said quietly. "We finished over the summer. We wanted to show you what we turn into."

Remus put his head in his hands. He didn't want his friends to be in danger because he was a werewolf. It was bad enough that they knew what he was. It didn't take James long to figure out that he was lying about his sick mum, and Sirius figured it out not long after; it was only after Remus' pleading that they didn't tell Peter right away—he didn't figure it out until their Third Year.

When Remus lifted his head, his friends were gone. In their places were three animals; a rat, a stag, and a shaggy dog. He couldn't believe his eyes! His friends had pulled off one of the most amazing pieces of magic in the world, even Peter was able to transform. The dog was wagging his tail and looking nervously between the stag and Remus. He could tell that the dog was Sirius; only he would have the energy a dog could have. James' personality as a stag didn't surprise Remus at all. James was a naturally born leader and always stood proud, like a stag. What shocked Remus was that Peter turned into a rat. This brought questions to the fifteen year old that he didn't like; was peter a liar? Did he mean to tell others their secrets? Could he be trusted if his inner animal was a sneaky rodent?

"I…I can't believe it," Remus started. "What you guys have pulled off…it's amazing and extremely illegal! What made you do this?"

James, who had just transformed back, said "we're going to help you get through your transformations each month. We're tired of you hurting yourself and we don't like that you have to be alone."

"Yeah mate," Sirius said after he and Peter transformed back. "It'll be safe for us to be there for you if we're animals. Your bites won't turn us into werewolves."

"No," Remus said adamantly. "You can still get hurt or even killed! Plus, if Dumbledore finds out, we're all going to get expelled."

"It's a risk we're all willing to take," James replied. "We've all talked it over and it's taken us three years to be able to figure this out and tell you."

"Remus," Sirius said. "There's nothing you can do to stop us. On the next full moon, we're going to be under the invisibility cloak and go out to the Whomping Willow; Peter's rat form is even small enough to press the knot on the tree to make it stop moving."

"I don't know what to say," Remus said. "You've thought this through. I still think you're all crazy."

Remus gave each boy a hug. He didn't believe he would ever have friends as good as the three boys in the room with him. He helped them clutter up the room again so their roommate, Frank Longbottom, wouldn't notice anything different. Frank was a nice guy, but he never hung out with the four boys on an intimate level; he didn't know about Remus' problem and that slightly alienated him from their group. Once Frank came up to the room, the five teenagers got ready for bed, all of them with thoughts of sleeping in the next day.

Lily and her friends bade Frank goodnight as he went up the boys' staircase. Once he was out of earshot, the girls turned to Alice to question her about Frank and how much time the two were spending together alone.

"Come on Alice," Marlene said, glaring at the blonde. "Spill it. Are you dating him or not?"

"Well, we like each other," Alice said shyly. "And he asked me to the next Hogsmeade trip…but I'm not sure that he's my boyfriend."

The girls giggled and gossiped after that. They made their way to their dormitory planning on going over what Alice should wear and where Frank should take her on the date. Lily was the most adamant that Alice and Frank should be together—after all, he was the only Gryffindor boy in their year who wasn't a pig headed Marauder. Alice and Frank made a great couple, all of the girls agreed to that, and Frank had become the much needed male out put their group lacked.

As the girls got ready for bed, Lily began day dreaming. So much had happened in just one week back at Hogwarts; Alice has a new relationship, they were getting more homework and preparing for their O.W.L.s, Marlene and Emmeline aren't bickering back and forth, and James Potter had asked her out. That last one was the weirdest of all; Lily and James had been arguing since their first year at Hogwarts. He was always picking on Severus and Lily hated it when anyone made fun of her friends. Sure, Severus was in a different house and could be a little weird at times, but that didn't mean someone should be so hateful towards him.

Lily let her thoughts wander between Severus and James for the remainder of the night until she finally fell asleep in her four poster bed. Her last thought that Friday night was a hopeful one about James changing and everyone getting along with Severus. She had no idea how wrong her wish would be.


	5. Chapter 5

**Please, read and review. Nothing you recognize is mine, it's all J.K. Rowling's =]**

Lily woke up the next Saturday day hopeful that things would be different. Severus had made plans with her to meet under the giant oak tree by the Great Lake that afternoon and she was glad for it. She was always worried about her best friend; things were bad in his home life and there were rumors about the Slytherin boys that she didn't like to hear. Lily hoped that Severus was smart enough not to get involved in anything illegal or full or dark magic.

It was still early, so Lily decided to go to breakfast by herself. All of the girls in her dormitory were still sleeping and, knowing from experience, they did not like to be woken up. As it was the weekend, Lily was able to take an extra-long shower and dress in her normal clothes instead of the required school uniform. She chose dark jeans that flared out at the end and an emerald green t-shirt that brought out the color of her eyes.

It was a solitary walk to the Great Hall that morning but Lily wasn't lonely. She used the time to reflect on her first week back to Hogwarts. Prefect duties plus the new workload the Fifth Years were experiencing were taking up a lot of her time and Lily already knew that it was going to take her away from her friends. With her relationship with Petunia getting worse and Severus drifting away, Lily needed her friends now more than ever.

"I don't know what I was thinking Sirius," Lily overheard a deep voice talking from around the corner.

"Come on James," Sirius replied. "She's just a girl."

"When will you get this? Lily Evans is more than just a girl; she's my dream girl."

Lily couldn't understand what she was hearing. This whole time she thought that James asking her out was some bet made by Sirius. She wasn't sure how to handle the fact that James Potter actually liked her. She was flattered by how he felt, but he couldn't possibly expect that she would say yes to him; he's so arrogant and egotistical. She hated how he played pranks on everyone and hexed Severus in the courtyard.

Lily ignored what she heard and continued her way to breakfast, but not before giving James and Sirius a chance to get there before her. When she got to the Great Hall, she saw the two boys sitting with Remus eating and laughing. Lily took her seat a little way down from them and ate in silence. She gave the boys a glace out of the corner of her eye; James was smiling at what Sirius and Remus were saying, but anyone looking at him could tell he wasn't happy.

Lily ate her breakfast quickly and then left the Great Hall. She felt bad for how she made James feel, but she knew that he would get over it. He was James Potter and some other girl would catch his attention soon. Right now, all Lily wanted to do was sit under the oak tree with her book and wait for Severus.

"Hi Lily," a male voice spoke causing Lily to stir from her novel.

"Severus," Lily exclaimed, getting up to hug her friend. "I hope your first week back is going better than mine. All of this homework is a bummer."

"It's going well," Severus replied.

"Is everything okay Sev? You sound sort of off."

"I need to talk to you about something serious."

"If this is about that jerk Potter asking me out—"

"It's not, and I know you hate him enough not to go out with him," Severus smiled. "Lily I can't hang out with you anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"We can't be friends."

"Sev, what's going on?" Lily became incredulous and upset at what Severus was telling her. "Does this have anything to do with the older boys in Slytherin? If it is, I can handle them."

"Lily," Severus said angrily, "they'll hurt you. They told me to stop talking to you and they'll leave you alone. Please, I'm doing this for you."

"Sev, you're my best friend. Why would you let someone come between us?"

"Lily, you don't understand. They're working for someone who hates—"

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" A quiet voice came from behind them.

"Lucius, I was doing what you asked. Just leave her alone," Snape replied.

"You're finally cutting ties with the Mudblood then?"

"How dare you!" Lily screeched. She took out her wand and pointed it at the Seventh Year.

Lily realized that she had made a mistake as soon as she pulled out her wand. All of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Year Slytherin males walked out from their hiding places within the Forbidden Forest.

"Snape," Lucius snapped. "Use that spell of your around the area so no one overhears us. We're going to teach your little Mudblood some manners. How dare she think to speak to people above her status? Lestrange, make sure Severus gets a good look at this."

Snape cast the Muffliato spell that he created. Instantly, the area that the group was in could no longer be heard from outside the perimeter. Rodolphous Lestrange bound Snape to and Malfoy's favorite henchmen, Crabbe and Goyle, made sure Lily could not escape.

"Now Snape, this is a warning to you," Lucius said while pointing his wand at Lily. "Mudbloods don't deserve to be in this world and if you're a blood traitor, you'll get the same as her. _Crucio!_"

The last thing Lily knew, before everything went black, was the agonizing pain searing through her body and someone's screams which she was pretty sure were her own.

"So guys," Remus said as he sat down in the Great Hall. "What are the four of us going to with our Saturday?"

"Well, we still haven't done a prank for the beginning of the year," Peter said.

"I don't want to do a prank," James replied.

The three boys looked at him shocked. James Potter, the head Marauder did not want to do a prank.

"James, mate," Sirius started. "Is this about Lily?"

"She doesn't like it when we prank people. If I want her to like me, I need to stop."

"That's surprisingly mature James," Remus said, giving his friend a small smile.

"Let's just work on updating the map," James said.

"Okay, let's do it outside though so we don't get caught," Sirius said.

The four boys walked outside and Sirius became pacified with their new task. It was a beautiful fall day and the boys wanted to enjoy it while it lasted. Remus set up his bottles of ink and spell books by the giant oak tree that they were fond of. The map the boys were making was almost completed, it just needed some finishing touches. They were able to see everyone who was on Hogwarts property, wherever they were, as well as seven secret passageways that led out of the school. The only thing they had left to do was put a password protecting enchantment on the parchment so no one else could read it.

As they looked over the map, James's eyes instantly looked for Lily's dot. He didn't see it in any of her favorite places; she wasn't in the common room, her dormitory, the library, or anywhere else. When James started to look at the grounds on the map, he became worried. Lily was with Severus Snape inside the Forbidden Forest. He knew that they were close friends, but he wasn't sure that Lily was aware of the large amount of Slytherins lurking in the trees near her.

"Hey guys, look at Lily's dot," James told the other boys.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Mate, just because you're obsessed with her doesn't mean the rest of us are."

"No, look at her dot. It's surrounded by Slytherins. She might be in trouble, I'm going to go find her."

"Okay, we'll come with you. Any chance to curse a Slytherin," Sirius laughed.

The four boys walked toward the Forbidden Forest keeping an eye out for Slytherins lurking around. James became more anxious with every step. Lily's dot was moving away from Snape and two other Slytherins were closing in on her. Upon showing this to the rest of the Marauders, James took off at a run towards the trees.

"I can't hear anything going on," James whispered to his friends. "I bet Snivellus used that Muffliato spell. Remus, do you remember how to take it off?"

"Yes, stand back and I'll do it," Remus replied. He muttered the counter-curse and was almost sorry he had; the first thing the boys heard was an ear-splitting scream.

James was horrified. Lily was on the ground with her limbs contorted horribly and she was screaming. Snape was looking on helplessly while bound to a tree while the rest of the Slytherins were around her laughing. Lucius Malfoy stood over her, his cold eyes shining with glee, performing the Cruciatus Curse. Without thinking, James pulled out his wand and stupefied Malfoy. He was enraged and didn't hold back with any of the spells he shot off.

Soon the area was full of the four Gryffindors shooting off spells. They had the advantage of taking the Slytherins off guard, but soon the Slytherins were cursing the Gryffindors back. James and Sirius were taking on three different Slytherins at once while Remus was trying to make sure Peter didn't get himself killed. By the end of the battle, all of the Slytherins except for Snape were unconscious; they wound up leaving him bound to the tree looking on at all of the destruction. Peter's nose was bleeding, Remus had a black eye, and Sirius's arm was turning a nasty shade of purple. No one looked worse than James, except for perhaps Lily.

James was bleeding from his head, he had a gash on his chest, his arm looked to be broken and he couldn't put weight on his right leg. None of that stopped him from picking up Lily in his arms and carrying her back to the castle. Lily was unconscious and covered in bruises; it looked as though she was kicked as part of her torture.

"I'm taking her to the Hospital Wing," James grunted and started walking towards the castle.

"James do you want one of us to carry her?" Sirius asked.

"No, I've got her."

They walked in silence to the Hospital Wing as quickly as they could with their injuries. James just wanted to make sure Lily was okay. He didn't care about anything else, not his injuries, not the weird looks he was getting from people in the halls. He completely ignored Professor McGonagall when she shouted out at them. Remus stopped to explain briefly that they saved Lily from being attacked and that McGonagall should bring Dumbledore to the Hospital Wing.

Once there, Madame Pomfrey immediately snapped into action and brought Lily to a bed. She fixed Sirius's arm and Remus and Peter's cuts, but James wouldn't accept help until Lily was better.

"Potter," Madam Pomfrey snapped. "You need to be treated immediately. There is nothing I can do for Miss Evans until she wakes up. We do not know the extent of her damage, but rest assured that I am monitoring her vitals for any changes."

"Fine," James snapped. "You can treat me, but I'm not leaving here until she wakes up."

"I expected nothing less from you, Mister Potter," a quiet voice spoke from behind him.

"Headmaster," James said, nodding his head in respect. "I'm sure McGonagall has told you what happened."

"She did James," Dumbledore replied. "I am impressed with the bravery you and your friends have shown earlier today, you may have even saved Miss Evans's life. I have inspected the area and found no one there, nor was there anything that shows someone was there except for a bit of rope by the base of a tree."

"That was Snape's, he was tied there."

"Ah, I see. Well, Mister Potter, I will be conducting interviews with all of the Slytherin males from Fifth Year and up. I want you four to stay away from the Slytherins for the time being, no retaliation will be tolerated. Is that understood?"

Dumbledore fixed each of the boys with a stare until they nodded. "Poppy, I am giving James my permission to stay by Miss Evans's side for as long as it takes her to recover. The rest of you, however, should go down to the Great Hall for some dinner and then back to your dormitory."

Madame Pomfrey did not look happy, but allowed James to stay. With a flick of her wand she conjured a chair for him to sit on by Lily's bedside. James, after saying a quiet goodbye to his friends, sank in the chair and held Lily's hand willing her to open her eyes. Remus, Sirius, and Peter did what they were told and went down to the Great Hall intending on telling Lily's friends what happened.


End file.
